The veteran actor says he played a notorious slaver who happens to be his maternal great-grandfather.
In “Ireke: Rise of the Maroons”, veteran actor Femi Branch takes on the role of Otunba Abbas, a notorious slave trader based on a real-life figure from Badagry. But for Branch, the role is more personal than it appears.
Speaking to The Nollywood Reporter at the film’s premiere on July 25 at Blue Pictures Cinema, Lagos, the actor revealed that Abbas was his maternal great-grandfather.
“The interesting thing about Abbas is that the name was from a notorious slaver in Badagry who happens to be my maternal great-grandfather,” he said. “When I first saw the name, I read the script and the character. I was like, why was I cast for this? Does somebody know something?”
Branch also touched on the character’s broader meaning within the film. According to him, Abbas represents the often overlooked role Africans played in the transatlantic slave trade.
“Over the years, we have blamed the white men for slavery, but we were the ones who opened our doors to them. We were the ones selling our people,” he said. “It paints a reality that we played a pivotal role in the slave trade.”
He added that while the idea of Africans selling other Africans may seem absurd to some, it reflects what truly happened.
Directed by Gbolahan Macjob, “Ireke: Rise of the Maroons” is a historical drama set during an 18th-century slave rebellion on Caribbean plantations. Branch described the film as “a beautiful historical piece.”
“Ireke” premiered on July 25, 2025, at Blue Pictures Cinema, 2nd Floor, Lagos City Mall, beside TBS, Onikan, Lagos Island. The red carpet began at 4 p.m., with the film opening in cinemas nationwide on the same day.